In 2016, meal kit delivery services generated close to $1.5 billion in revenue – by 2022, it’s projected to be a multi-billion dollar market.
But if you’re one of the enterprising companies in this growing niche, you know how difficult it can be to start making money. Between keeping up with facility costs, hiring workers, and trying to keep your prices low enough to entice consumers, it could be a while before your prepared meal business is in the black.
So, how do you make your business more profitable without sacrificing the quality of your product?
The answer is in your ready-to-eat meal packaging process.
ILPRA’s newest line of tray sealers is designed with companies like yours in mind – our goal is to help spend less on packaging so that you can use more of your resources to perfect and promote your products.
Using Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP) and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), our fully automated tray sealers are equipped to boost your productivity, improve efficiency, and even reduce your company’s carbon footprint.
Here’s how.
Simple Ready-to-Eat Meal Packaging Solutions for Complex Companies
To stand out in an increasingly competitive industry, you’ve had to devise new and unique offerings. Maybe you make the best vegan meals, the freshest meals, or the best meals for runners in training. Whatever it is that you do best, that’s what people remember and love about your company.
But you know what they don’t care about?
Whether or not you used the most expensive packaging available.
Instead of spending as $0.40 per package on plastic containers and snap-on lids, making the switch to a simpler and more effective tray sealing solution could save you up to 50% on packaging costs. That’s more money you can put into growing your brand and not just getting by, but thriving in the ready-to-eat market.
What are the Benefits of ILPRA Tray Sealing?
Cost Savings
Any new piece of equipment is going to be a long-term investment, but an ILPRA Speedy tray sealer pays for itself faster than you might expect. As we’ve already mentioned, making the switch from expensive plastic-top lids to cost-effective Vacuum Skin Packaging can save you as much as 50% on packaging costs.
While we tend to associate higher costs with higher quality, that’s not always the case. In fact, the benefits of ILPRA tray sealers go far beyond improving your company’s bottom line. VSP and MAP packaging methods have plenty of benefits for your customers, too.
Longer Product Shelf Life
For consumers, the shelf life of a prepackaged meal is a key factor in their buying decision. For your business, a longer product shelf life means less product waste.
Our new Speedy Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP) and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) solutions are intelligently designed to keep meals fresh and extend their shelf life compared with snap-on lids by locking out moisture and preventing microbial activity.
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly skeptical of certain preservatives and additives, linking them to cancer and other negative effects on the body. ILPRA tray sealers can help you appeal to this more health-conscious consumer base by allowing you to keep your meals fresh naturally.
Our Speedy models are tested and approved for High-Pressure Processing (HPP) quality seals so that you can have the peace of mind that your meals are sealed vacuum-tight. You can also customize your Speedy tray sealing machine with a built-in expiry date stamp so that there’s never any confusion about the freshness of your products.
Meals are Easier to Prep
One of the main reasons consumers are switching to meal delivery services is that they’re simply more convenient. Today’s working adults don’t always have time to cook healthy meals for themselves – that’s why they turn to you.
ILPRA’s unique Vacuum Skin Packaging technology makes your prepared meals even easier enjoy by allowing your packaging to double as a steam cooker. Customers can simply place the sealed tray in their microwave to fully steam cook their meals. Steaming helps veggies retain their nutrients, color, taste, and freshness, and best of all, there’s no mess to clean.
Microwavable meal using ILPRA ready-to-eat meal packaging.
Smaller Carbon Footprint
For the ready-to-eat meal industry, plastic products are something of a necessary evil to keep food fresh for long periods of time. At the same time, new and innovative ready-to-eat meal packaging methods are making it easier to cut back on how much plastic and energy you use.
Our latest tray sealer models, like the Speedy, are the most economical machines in their class. But when it comes to packaging messy perishable goods like premade meals, creating an air-tight and water-tight seal is an absolute must for health and safety reasons. Vacuum sealing is the most sustainable way to accomplish this and protect your products until customers are ready to open them.
No More Expensive Changeovers
Prefer the look for skin packaging for some products, but not for others? We have you covered. ILPRA tray sealers are capable of both Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP) and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) within the same machine and tooling set. That means faster, less expensive changeovers and an overall more efficient packaging process.
Smoother Distribution
On the distribution side, the Vacuum Skin Packaging process helps to reduce product damage, resulting in less product waste. And whether your products go to retail shelves or directly to your customers’ doorsteps, you want to make sure they’re arriving in perfect condition.
Get More Information About ILPRA Tray Sealers
Want to learn more about how upgrading to an ILPRA tray sealer can help you increase profits and improve customer satisfaction? Call ILPRA America @ 215.822.0600 or visit our website for more information.